Many graduate students hold research assistantships, and occasionally graduate students receive other forms of financial support from the Department. Graduate students receiving financial aid from outside the Department are included under the stated rules unless specified in the terms of their appointments.
Normally, a student with a half-time assistantship is expected to schedule 9-12 credits per semester. A student with a quarter-time assistantship may schedule 9-14 credits, and with a three-quarter-time assistantship, 6-8 credits may be scheduled. Only with prior approval from the student’s advisor, the Department Head, and the Graduate School may the course load be increased or decreased beyond these ranges for a specific semester. Over a series of semesters, the student's total credit load should conform to the general guidelines outlined above. For additional information, see the Graduate School assistantships web page. NOTE: Audited courses do not count toward assistantship credit levels.
Graduate assistantship stipends comprise an important portion of funds for research and provide the opportunity for students to work with faculty members and be exposed to various aspects of an academic program. Graduate students receiving financial support are expected to actively engage in research or perform services related to resident education or extension programs, depending on the nature of funding. The student will be expected to perform research and/or education duties in return for the assistantship stipend. Students on assistantships are also eligible for university benefits and tuition remission.9
Students who are part-time or are on probation are not eligible for assistantships.
All graduate assistantships require the following:
- All half-time assistants will be expected to be available for performing services related to research and/or resident education or extension for an average of 20 hours per week; 30 hours per week for students on a three-quarter-time assistantship and 10 hours per week for students on a quarter-time assistantship. This is an 18-week commitment for a student on assistantship in the fall semester; an 18-week commitment for a student on assistantship in the spring semester; and a 12-week commitment for a student being paid in the summer semester. A graduate assistant may accept concurrent employment outside the University only with permission from the Department Head and the Director of Graduate Studies.
- The faculty member for whom a graduate assistant works is the assistantship supervisor and may or may not be the same person as the academic advisor.
The Director of Graduate Studies is responsible to the Department Head for the assignment of assistantships.
MS students on a half-time assistantship are eligible for up to 4 semesters of support. A PhD student on a half-time assistantship who did not receive their MS in the Rural Sociology program at Penn State will be eligible for up to 8 semesters of support. Students who seek to complete both a MS and PhD in Rural Sociology are eligible for up to 10 semesters of support. All assistantship allocations are subject to the condition of adequate performance and satisfactory academic progress.
A student may request a one-semester extension of assistantship support through his or her advisor to the Director of Graduate Studies. The petition will be granted pending satisfactory progress toward the degree and availability of funds. Students are encouraged to seek funds from Penn State units and organizations external to Penn State to support their research or teaching activities. These sources are especially essential for providing support for students who need funds beyond the semester limits indicated above.
11.1. Termination of Assistantship
A student may lose an assistantship at any time due to unsatisfactory performance of research responsibilities and assigned duties, financial exigencies of the Department, unsatisfactory scholarly performance (as outlined above), or violations of professional ethics or University policy. Graduate assistants and faculty are encouraged to discuss work expectations at the beginning of each semester, and review performance throughout the semester, in addition to any formal evaluations that are conducted by the program.
Students' performance in their assistantship duties is assessed during the annual review process. The annual review document will include space to outline their performance of research responsibilities and assigned duties associated with their assistantship. The supervising faculty member will have the opportunity to add to the annual review. Concerns about student performance of the assistantship or concerns about the relationship between the student and supervisor may be brought to the Director of Graduate Studies or Department Head. Early communication and documentation are essential for working through concerns and identifying appropriate resolution options. Additional information about the procedure for termination of an assistantship can be found on the Graduate School page.
9 For additional information, see Assistantships
